


Pining To Get Lucky

by digthewriter



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Coffeeshop AU, Cute, Evil Uther, Happy Ending, Happy For Now Ending, M/M, Merlin has a crush, Merlin owns a cafe, Modern Era, arthur has family problems, community: winterknights, contains: minor character death mentioned, evil Morgana, holiday fic, holiday fluff, losing a parent, merlin owns a coffeeshop
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-21
Updated: 2020-12-21
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:42:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,045
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27821701
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/digthewriter/pseuds/digthewriter
Summary: The cute man who came into the café had everything Merlin wanted.
Relationships: Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Comments: 14
Kudos: 66
Collections: WinterKnights 2020 - a Merlin Winter/Holiday Fest





	Pining To Get Lucky

**Author's Note:**

> **Disclaimer:** Merlin characters are the property of Shine and BBC. No profit is being made, and no copyright infringement is intended.  
>  **Notes:** Thanks a million to my beta: ilikestopwatches.

The cute man who came into the café had everything Merlin wanted. A kind of charm and smoothness that would make anyone weak in the knees and a smile worth more than a million quid. Everyone at the coffee shop found him to be overly attractive, which he was, but Merlin thought there was something behind those eyes that people weren't seeing.

Or maybe it was wishful thinking. How wonderful would it be? All those people who loved the sexy blond man for his charm and good looks unable to see the pain which Merlin recognised. Because it was there. _Obviously_.

What Merlin was, was _obviously_ deluded. Where did he think he was? In a Britney Spears song from the 90s?

The man was lucky. He was lucky to have his parents' money, to have a good job, and come in and buy a latte every day — and there was no deeper meaning behind those eyes and definitely no lonely heart.

*

It was Christmas Eve. Merlin had allowed most of the staff to leave early as they didn't have very many customers for the day. After they sold the last of the baked goods, Merlin figured it was time to close up shop for the next couple of days. He was going to have a relaxing Christmas Day with his mum until she'd have to go to work, the life of a nurse, and then he was going to get his much needed sleep. They had sold several gift cards for the café as Christmas presents so he needed to make sure to stay open as the mums and the sisters and the cousins were going to pop by and cash in those gifts! He also needed to find a way to pay the baker, his best friend Gwen, a bonus for all her hard work during the busy holiday season.

As he placed the last chair on the table and mopped the floor, Merlin heard the bell above door to the café chime.

"Sorry, we're clo—" Merlin's eyes widened when he saw Mr Lucky himself standing at the door. "—sed. Closed," he said. Then he cleared his throat and tried again. "Sorry, we're closed."

"Oh…" Mr Lucky said. "I was hoping for a quick— Actually, never mind." He started to step back and pull the door closed when Merlin didn't know what bloody possessed him to reach out.

"Latte plus an extra dark chocolate brownie?" Because even though almost all the baked goods were sold out and he'd cleared the display cabin, there was one piece of extra dark chocolate brownie Merlin had saved for himself.

Mr Lucky's eyes widened and he looked like he was about to lick his lips but had stopped himself. "Yes. Actually, and…something else."

"Oh?" Merlin asked. "Please, come in and lock the door behind you so others don't get the idea we're still open. I'm all sold out of our baked goods."

"You didn't…I mean you don't have to…for me."

"In that case, if you'd like to be well on your way then…" Merlin gestured towards the door, "by all means."

Mr Lucky laughed nervously. "I can't tell if you're being serious or if you're fucking with me." When Merlin didn't respond right away because no, he did not know if he was being serious or fucking with _himself_ — Mr Lucky spoke again. "You're the owner, correct? Emrys?"

"Merlin," he replied. "They only call me Emrys for the paperwork."

"Of course. Kkk— Interesting name."

"We're out of oat milk so will coconut milk be alright?" Merlin asked, ignoring whatever the "K" sound was going to make… "Cute name?" or "Creepy?"

"Of course. Anything will be fine," Mr Lucky replied. And then, he solved the mystery for Merlin. "I'm Arthur, by the way. Arthur Pendragon."

"Lucky?" Merlin blurted out like a fool. "Shite. I mean… what? Right. Your name. Thanks." And then thirty seconds of painful silence later, "It's nice to meet you, Arthur."

Mr Lucky aka Arthur Pendragon, _apparently — why did that name sound familiar?_ smiled. "It's good to finally talk to you, Merlin."

Merlin busied himself with making the latte and then collecting the last of the extra dark chocolate brownie. "Didn't you say you had a third item you wanted to collect?"

"I did…" Arthur said, looking hesitant. He bit his lower lip and didn't make eye contact with Merlin for a long while. "I'll pay for these first." He offered Merlin a credit card.

"It's fine," replied Merlin. "I've already closed the till. It'll be a pain to have to ring it up and—don't worry about it. Consider it a Christmas present for our favo— loyal customer."

"Favourite?" Arthur asked with that cheeky smile Merlin absolutely hated, thank you very much. "Am I a favourite now? I didn't even know you knew I existed. Now you're giving me the brownie I fancy and calling me your favourite."

Merlin rolled his eyes. Because really. Who the _fuck_ did this guy think he was? Right? "I never said you were _my_ favourite."

"But you have favourite customers?"

"Sure," Merlin answered, shrugging. "There's that gym bloke who stops by on Fridays. He's always wearing the short shorts and the biker's helmet, not that I think I've ever seen him on a bicycle, or whatever. But, I mean…he orders like forty quid of baked goods. No wonder he goes to the gym all that time."

"Wait…so is he a favourite because he's good looking or because he offers good business? I mean, I could have my staff come down and order your entire inventory—"

"Hold on a second, hot shot, what am I going to feed the rest of my customers if you come and shop me dry? Gwen can't bake any faster than she already does for us. Besides why do you want to be a favourite all of a sudden? You come in three or four times a week and order the same thing and go wherever you go to. Why do you care who is my favourite?"

Arthur chuckled low and sexy and Merlin immediately hated it. "I could wear a bicyclist's uniform if it'll help."

Merlin rolled his eyes. "Will there be anything else?" Suddenly, he liked it better when he and Mr Lucky weren't speaking.

Again, Arthur looked conflicted and after a good minute, which Merlin had no idea why he'd kept waiting for whatever it was Arthur wanted to say, the man spoke. "You're closing up early, does this mean you have plans for Christmas Eve?"

"Well, it is Christmas Eve. Don't you have friends or family to spend time with? Wrap presents for? Get drunk and tell old stories?" And as soon as Merlin said it, he regretted it. Arthur's face had fallen and he looked like a lost puppy Merlin had managed to kick. Hard.

 _Shit._ Merlin had been so stupid. He'd spent plenty of his holidays with friends who didn't have another place to go, those who spent their free time in coffee shops on their laptops surrounded by strangers so they wouldn't feel alone. He should have sort of maybe realised this about Arthur. And maybe, just maybe, he hadn't been so wrong after all. There was something behind those eyes Arthur had been hiding. And Merlin had seen it.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to—"

"That's fine. Thanks for the coffee, and… Right. I'll leave you alone now. See you around, Merlin."

And just like that, Arthur turned around, straightened up and started to walk out the door.

"Wait!" Merlin shouted because _what the actual fuck, Merlin?_

*

Merlin's keys jingled as his hands shook nervously when he tried to open the front door to his flat. His place was small and it was right above the café so he could always keep an eye on the business and rush in if he was needed on his days off. But it'd been a while since he'd brought someone home.

He walked in and got out of the way, leaving the door open for Arthur who followed suit. He looked apprehensive and as nervous as Merlin felt.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to murder you," said Merlin.

"That's the kind of thing you say to someone when you are about to murder them," replied Arthur.

"Maybe I should be the one worried. You showed up at the café after hours and are now in my home—if anyone's in trouble. It's me." Merlin laughed, trying to ease the tension between them and closed the door. He gestured towards the lounge. "Make yourself comfortable. I'll put on a kettle."

"Thanks," Arthur said, looking away from Merlin as he took in the room around him. Merlin's place was very small. He had no idea what kind of money Mr Lucky came from, and whether he was judging Merlin, his taste in art, and his decorating style—which wasn't much. He had a small, comfortable, dark green sofa he'd spent far too much money on, but it was bloody soft. He'd fallen asleep on the sofa reading a book or watching telly far too many times to count. It was also good for cuddling.

 _No. You're not thinking about cuddling right now_. He scolded himself and left the room to put down his bag. He headed to his small kitchen. Ever since he'd started his business, he hadn't had time for a relationship and when he'd finally manage to convert the small storage space above the shop into a flat, he hadn't looked back. With running the business full time and learning new things about coffee, tea, and cakes on a weekly basis, Merlin never had the time for dating. Now, there was a hot bloke, looking lost and in need of a rescue, in his sitting room.

_If you're so horny, you should go out to the club with your friends who are always inviting you and not think about shagging a regular customer. Who now knows where you live._

The internal monologue needed to stop. When the kettle whistled, Merlin grabbed the loose tea he had stored under the cabinet and allowed it to steep in the kettle. Certain he and probably Arthur were in the mood for something stronger than a simple cup of tea, Merlin searched for his Irish coffee glasses and filled them with warm water. He was so concentrated on what he was doing, dumping out the hot water, coating the bottom with honey and then adding whiskey and lemon juice to the glass, he didn't realise he had an audience.

"That looks good," Arthur said, giving Merlin a start. "Oh, sorry. You're always concentrating so much when you're doing your thing."

"How would you know?" Merlin asked absentmindedly, filling the glasses with brewed tea. "Right," he said eventually when he stirred the tea to mix with honey. "You're apparently some sort of stalker."

Arthur laughed. He looked as if some weight had been shifted off his shoulders and was in a better mood than before. "Not a stalker. It started as a routine job but then I liked the lattes a bit too much. They are addictive so I kept coming back, not sure if you'd ever notice me."

"Of course I did," Merlin said, offering the glass to Arthur. "Should we go back to the lounge?"

Arthur nodded and Merlin followed him. He opted for the chair while he offered the sofa for Arthur to sit on. He could have easily sat on the other side and shared the same space but Merlin wanted to look at Arthur more. He wanted to be able to read his face, study his expressions, and commit them to memory. When was he going to get this chance to observe Mr Lucky ever again?

"I like what you've done with the place," Arthur said, looking around again, as if he knew this place had been there before.

"Oh?"

"It was hard for me to let it go."

"I'm sorry, I don't understand."

"This used to be my mother's flat—before she died." Arthur took a sip of the Hot Toddy. "Oh, this is good."

"Right…" Merlin said, now sort of maybe finally understanding why he'd thought the name Arthur Pendragon sounded familiar. "I had multiple meetings with a Morgana Pendragon when I was looking to purchase the property. She'd said her step-brother wasn't willing to sign it over. _Misplaced nostalgia_ , she'd called it."

Arthur gave a dry laugh which was full of a sort of disdain Merlin wasn't too used to. "She would."

"It was a run-down place, and I'd offered more money than I thought it was worth but I love the location. And I knew the foot traffic would be excellent."

Arthur nodded. "I heard all kinds of comments because it _was_ hard for me to let go. I felt like I was letting go of her. I used to visit my mother when she was ill. My father didn't know. It was decrepit even when she lived here. She'd all but run away from my father after giving birth to me—and he didn't wish to support her because well, he's just controlling that way. But when she died, she'd left it to me. It was in the Pendragon trust waiting for me until I'd come to age but somehow Morgana had manoeuvred her way into taking control of the property. I had to fight tooth and nail about not selling it. Not until I heard what it was going to be called—"

"Mother," Merlin said. "Everyone thought it was stupid but my mother has been a huge influence in my life but she wouldn't let me call it Hunith." There was a pause. "That's her name. What was your mother's name?"

Arthur didn't say anything. He was looking down at his half-filled glass as if he wanted to answer but maybe it was too painful.

"Is this why you came to the shop in the first place? When you first started, I used to see you and you'd get a coffee and simply sit in the corner for hours, looking I don't know…sad. I thought I was imagining things because whenever anyone approached you, you were so casual, and smiling, but—"

"You were watching me?" Arthur smiled and it was genuine and brilliant but Merlin ignored it.

"And you were watching me. What were you going to do? Take me to the courts and try to buy the place back?"

Arthur shrugged. "I didn't own the café space, only this flat that'd become a storage room of sorts. I was going to buy the flat back. But there was something about you and I was working up the courage—"

"The courage?" Merlin scoffed. "So you wanted to sneak in and see the place and you aren't actually lost and lonely for Christmas?" Merlin wasn't angry, not really, but he also didn't like being fooled.

"I…" Arthur hesitated for a moment. "All of the above? What if I am lost and lonely for Christmas, and I honestly came by today to try to get your phone number as a Christmas present to myself, and maybe someday, I would have liked to see the place where my mother spent her last days?"

Merlin sighed. _Why did he have to go and sound so genuine and heartbroken and cute like that?_ "You wanted my phone number?"

Arthur bit his lower lip and nodded once. His cheeks taking on a flush which wasn't from the hot toddy. "I'm not very good at this…Being honest about myself. Or telling a bloke I fancy him. I mean it wasn't even my intention. I went to the café only because I was curious and then I kept going back and I didn't know how to stop. And it wasn't until I realised when I watched you and you were so friendly with this one bloke who comes by— that I was actually jealous. I wanted you to look at me like that. Smile only for me. I didn't know what to do as I was besides myself. Sorry, I didn't mean this to be some sort of love confession. I just…I don't even know why I'm surprised you're genuine, and kind, and…" Arthur raked his fingers through his hair as if willing himself to stop talking but it was the opposite of what Merlin wanted.

"Sorry," Arthur added. "I'm not used to talking about myself. Growing up with my father and sister, I've been used to putting up a facade—"

"No. There's no need to be sorry. I mean, it's crazy, of course. Absolutely mental you've been coming into the café, you fancy me, now you're here… It's like the start of a bad horror film." He laughed, now stopping himself from rambling. "It's probably a terrible idea to jump into anything—" 

"But you'd be willing?"

Merlin bit the inside of his cheek so he didn't grin like a fool. "What do you think?" He placed his empty glass on the coffee table between them and leaned in closer to Arthur. "I'd be willing."

The way Arthur's face lit up, it did something inside Merlin. He finally felt a calm inside him he'd lost since he'd laid eyes on Mr Lucky. _Now who's the lucky one?_ He asked himself.

"And to think all I wanted for Christmas was a phone number. Didn't think I'd get this lucky…" At that, Merlin laughed. "What?" Arthur asked, confused.

"Nothing," Merlin said. "Do you want to come with me to my mum's tomorrow for Christmas dinner?"

"I'd love that. Should I pick you up from here tomorrow?" Merlin was slightly taken aback with the question. Of course Arthur would have to go home and change. This would also mean he'd need to leave tonight. "Or…" Arthur drawled. "If the café is closed tomorrow, do you want to pack an overnight bag and come to mine?"

Yes, this was probably a very bad idea. But there was something about Mr Lucky and Merlin would be a fool not to explore this between them.

When they got to Arthur's car, and Arthur was ready to drive to his place, he said: "Ygraine."

"Pardon?" asked Merlin.

"My mother's name. It's Ygraine."

* * *

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Moodboard for this fic is now on tumblr [HERE](https://awesomedig.tumblr.com/post/643249695882461184/) ♥


End file.
